10 days of fighting for control of the key Baiji oil refinery in central Iraq has ended, and ISIS reports 100 percent control over the complex, which when operational supplies one third of Iraq’s refined petroleum.
The Baiji facility has been offline for days now, as the workers fled the fighting, which has led to gasoline rationing across much of Iraq as supplies are difficult to come by.
ISIS says they don’t intend to keep the refinery under their direct control, but will hand it over to tribal leaders in the area to run. It will be a key to providing ISIS-controlled territory with fuel.
Instead, the ISIS spokesman said the rebels will continue southward along the highway, continuing their advance on the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Iraq has been scrambling to prepare for a defense of Baghdad, though they continue to suffer defeats at the hands of ISIS elsewhere, losing much important territory.
There were 500 Iraqi Special Forces said to be trapped defending that refinery. Any idea what happened to them?
If Sterling Archer had just captured a broccoli farm, we wouldn't be sending in 'advisers' (aka highly trained special forces killers), getting ready to bomb, and sending billions of tax payer dollars to support Iran's man in Baghdad.
If the flawed history of the United States Government and it's petro-crony-ism with oil companies can be summed up in one short article, this is it.
As with all raw materials, it is virtually worthless in its natural state. It is only by refining(manufacturing) and selling a usable product can it produce wealth. We (the United States) are the biggest user of petroleum products. As such those that have the raw materials and manufacturing capabilities should be fighting tooth and nail to get our business. However, with crony-capitalism the U.S. military is sent to topple governments, put in compliant leaders and slaughter the locals that object. It doesn't have to be that way. Even the so-called terrorists realize you can't eat crude oil and it's only value is to sell it and make a profit. They seem to be more economically advanced than all the pointy heads inside the DC beltway.
And after all the national treasure spent, and after the blood of our children wasted, we still buy the oil at market value. And the profits of the oil companies spike every time a crisis raises the price of oil.
You'd think we'd at least ask for a deal where we get a bit of a discount for every thousand of our children that we sacrifice on the altars of the oil gods. Capitalism doesn't seem to have gotten rid of the blood sacrifices … just the idea that we get anything in return.
Maybe we could get them to issue us one of those frequent customer cards that the deli's use…you know where they punch out the numbers and when you get 10 punches you get a free drink or something. Hey, let's start small, every 10 dead we get a free barrel of oil…it's a start…I don't want TPTB to get sticker shock by asking for more.